Episode 81 - The Birth Pillar - God of War

There is one unavoidable truth you will never escape: you cannot
change. You will always be... a podcast. Welcome back to the show,
where today we’re going to take a look at the return of the God of
War franchise with the, uh, aptly titled “God of War.” We meet
Kratos this time around on a much more somber mission than in
previous games, with him setting out with his son to scatter his
wife’s ashes on the highest peak in the realms. This is of course
swiftly interrupted and the journey continues but with more of a
focus on the action combat the series is known for. This isn’t to
say that the gameplay is unchanged, as the polish here has gone
into smooth, satisfying animations and really tremendous visuals
which help make the fighting feel, for the most part, fluid and
satisfying. Yet, despite this polish and despite the budget, there
is some niggling feeling that something else could have been done
and we discuss what it is that makes this feel like maybe a little
less than the triumph it was largely sold as. We’re going to talk
about the value of iteration over innovation, implementation of RPG
elements in seemingly every game, and what is truly the
genre-defining title in the arms (big beefy arms)-race that is Buff
Guy Games. Thanks for joining us again this time, it’s a few days
late but there were some holidays and some driving and stuff that
prevented us from finding a convenient time to record so we hope
you’ll forgive us. Next time we’re going to take a step in a
decidedly different direction to talk about Baba Is You, an indie
puzzle game that works on the very abstract formula of moving words
and objects around the screen to change the rules that govern how
you interact with the world. It’s fascinating, and we hope you’ll
join us for it. And hey, maybe you’re wondering “NOCLIP, why are
you talking about this game that released last year and most people
don’t really consider to be that relevant anymore? Also, why don’t
you like anything? Jesus. Consider yourself uninvited from all
future parties we might hypothetically have cause, honestly?
Honestly? You’re bringing everyone down.” Well, for one, harsh. And
for two, maybe the relevant games discussion you’re looking for can
be found on our Discord server, where we have a great group of
people with whom we recently live-reacted to E3 and are always up
to talk about the recent developments and old favorites. Come join
us! https://discord.gg/tRNNSJ6